Reunited We Stand
by Lag Janson
Summary: It's been seven years since the fall of Saffron and much has changed. Trouble still looks for Ranma.
1. Stranger in the Night

  
Standard Disclosure Applies: This is fanfiction and I do not currently nor have I ever owned any of the copyrights for this material. I will not now or ever use these characters in an attempt to make money...  
  
Reunited We Stand  
  
Petra Ivanovna Pushkin. A name forgotten. The dark haired Russian no longer knew the name as much as remembered it from days long past. Since the day she had turned eighteen and took up the life of the warrior, so many long years ago, she had stopped aging. Her days as Petra Pushkin ended. Her life was not her own. Such were the terms of the contract she had signed.  
  
With slender facial features of her European decent, and with clothing very much like a costume rather than style, Petra should have stood out among the population of Tokyo. Her dark pants and white blouse were fairly acceptable, but the outfit was completed with a brown vest with many binding straps to keep her armless attire clear during a fight. She carried a bow on her back, that alone should have drawn more attention. So far nobody had stopped to ask her questions. Travelling at night helped.  
  
Kneeling in the darkness, Petra waited and watched for the old woman with her faintly glowing green eyes. Ku Lon was a cunning adversary, the greatest the amazon tribe had offered in many centuries. This she had seen personally. Not that it was terribly important, but Petra wondered if the old woman remembered her.  
  
At long last the great Amazon Matriarch let herself be seen, stepping outside her small restaurant as she performed the final of her nightly duties. But with age came brittle bones and aching muscles. Ku Lon was no longer what she once was and Petra was pretty certain that any physical combat between them would be pretty one sided. It saddened her to see the matriarch in the later stage of her long life, but she hardened herself to the sight and looked to move on.  
  
It wasn't the amazon that worried her. There was a boy, capable of enormous power, sleeping soundly out there this night. He had beaten Herb of the Musk and Saffron of Phoenix Mountain. Considering the wrinkled woman who relaxed by her restaurant, he had beaten old Ku Lon as well. Such strength was frightening.  
  
Petra was moving again, leaping from tree to rooftop to light post as quickly as her ki strengthened legs could carry her. The Nekohaten was the halfway point of her long journey. With directions given to her by Ranma's greatest rival, Petra circled in on her prey like a sharp eyed hawk with the knowledge that he would not escape her much longer.  
  
A car passed underneath her, it's headlights illuminating fences, trees and homes with an eerie incandescent glow. Petra didn't stop, but a force other than her own drew her eyes away. The light reflected off glass with a dazzling display that caused a moment of hesitation in her journey. Petra had long since lost the magical feeling of such technological advancements. She had been around before the invention of the lightbulb.  
  
But the fight was with a being that had not yet tired of the magic lights. For a moment there was an inner battle for control. One that hardly lasted a second and Petra was never in danger of losing. If it had not been for the fact she should have been preparing for her next landing, this may not have even been important.  
  
Petra tripped over the top of a light post and tumbled straight down to the dark earth below. She landed with little grace and a lotta face in the soft dirt.  
  
"Ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch," she repeated sorely as she lay still.  
  
The map floated down to land in front of her, partially illuminated by the streetlights. It hadn't aged well and had yellowed and curled over the course of her travels. Clearly marked with several arrows was the position of the Tendou home. The landmarks she had been given had taken months to reach, but patience was paying off. She was almost there. Another few months and she would face Ranma at long last.  
  
Frowning, Petra looked about her surroundings. A house once sat here. A fairly large one for Tokyo with a yard and a big building next to it. There was a dry pond with rocks decorating where the edge between land and water would have been.  
  
Sensing a disturbing possibility, Petra looked to her map once more. The Tendou home had such landmarks. The home, the dojo and a koi pond had all been described by that Hibiki person.  
  
She clued in on what her instincts had been trying to tell her shortly later. With a deafening howl, she vented her frustration on the world. And one person in particular...  
  
This was Saotome Ranma's fault.  
  
Brown eyes gazed intently from beneath strands of brown hair. The computer screen lit the room with little help from the single dim lamp that shared the same desk. The clock, which the loose papers had almost hid, displayed the ungodly hour of ten after twelve.  
  
Nabiki refused to leave her chair. There was plenty work for her left before she could finalize her yearly income. She wasn't rich, not even close, but she was doing very well for herself and she was more than content. At twenty-five, Nabiki had managed to pay her own way through business school and find her way to the top of a small chain of restaurants.  
  
The door swung open, creaking on its well-used hinges and the light was flicked on. Both Nabiki and her partner squinted at each other through the suddenly harsh light. "Nabiki, are you still up?" Ukyo, though looking tired, was smiling tightly. Her hair down and not dressed in her trademark blues, Nabiki could easily note that her partner had been asleep.  
  
Nabiki reacted to this interruption by flashing a cocky grin back. "Is it worth fifty yen to you?"  
  
Ukyo grinned in response. The cook crossed the room, making her way to Nabiki's desk. The younger woman had matured over the past few years, gaining much needed self-confidence in herself. She regularly drew in crowds to watch her artistic displays as she provided the best okinomiyaki in the city.  
  
As for their business relationship, it developed as their friendship and respect for each other strengthened in the years since the second wedding attempt. Ukyo had actually arrived as a guest, though a depressed one, she had not been an initiator of the chaos that ensued and even stood beside Ryouga in an attempt to defend it.  
  
Okay, so they didn't exactly do a competent job, Nabiki admitted with a grin, but she respected them both for the attempt made.  
  
"I'll go to bed shortly," Nabiki told her friend, covering a yawn with a single hand. "I just want to go over these numbers once more."  
  
Ukyo made her way behind the desk, seemingly more alert now. "Is there a problem?" she asked worriedly.  
  
"No," Nabiki answered, scratching her head. "We did pretty well actually. After payroll, rent plus the start-up costs for the new restaurant in Juuban, we seem to be up a good ten percent over last years estimates."  
  
Nabiki felt Ukyo's hand on her shoulder as the younger woman peered at the numbers for herself. "Then why are you staying up so late, sugar? There's no panic to get this stuff done."  
  
Nabiki grinned at her partner as if she were holding some grand secret. "You maybe surprised, but I do this because I enjoy it. Not everybody likes to fry things."  
  
The phone rang, interrupting any witty remark Ukyo may have responded with. Nabiki frowned and looked at the clock. She worried briefly if something had gone wrong at one of their restaurants, but the staff should have been long clear.  
  
It rang a second time, prompting more immediate action. She reached over and answered it. And paused as she listened to a voice she had not heard from in a long time.  
  
"Cologne," she breathed, a hint of hostility still floating on her breath. Ukyo's hand tightened on her shoulder, letting Nabiki know she was not the only one with strong emotions tied to the old amazon.  
  
Nabiki's mood only darkened from there as the amazon spoke.  
  
Cologne replaced the phone and reluctantly turned to face her strange visitor once more. If anybody would know how to contact Ranma, Nabiki would find a way. The old amazon looked forward to the chance at meeting him once more, though for the moment she wasn't at all certain she believed the reason it was necessary.  
  
"I have put a call in," Cologne told the girl, Chinese spoken instead of Japanese. It was interesting that a European girl would know both Asian languages as well as she did. Especially one as young as she appeared to be. "It might take a while before we can find Ranma. Do you have a place to stay, child?"  
  
The girl shook her head, her long braided dark hair swinging slowly behind her, but with a sly smile on her face. The confidence she showed reminded Cologne of times a few years ago. But children grow old, and the naive become experienced. So much had changed.  
  
"Forgive me," the girl requested as she tried to contain obvious mirth. "But you haven't asked the important questions yet."  
  
"Oh?" Cologne asked, showing her own amusement with bright eyes that belied her age. She hopped forward on her cane, approaching the restaurant table that the girl had taken up residence at. "And what might those be?"  
  
"My name, for starters," the girl answered, crossing her arms. "Why I'm looking for Ranma would be another."  
  
"Fiancée, no doubt," Cologne grumbled as she slid into the seat across the table from her visitor. "But enlighten me, child. Who would you be?"  
  
The girl leaned forward onto her elbows, her arms still crossed in a relaxed and unaggressive pose. "I am what the Joketsuzoku would call the Wingless Phoenix."  
  
Cologne had heard these tales before, as a child she had heard the bedtime tales of an immortal monster trained by Lord Saffron himself. Over time Cologne had come to believe the old stories as children's tales and nothing more. Thus, when a girl younger than her own granddaughter proclaimed to be the fictional creature, Cologne couldn't help but chuckle. "Indeed?" Cologne asked admidst a mild fit of giggles.  
  
"My name is Petra," she responded, smiling tightly.  
  
"Ahh, so it may be," Cologne answered, her tone more than condescending at this point. "I should call Nabiki back," the amazon told her visitor as she started gathering her long gnarled staff back.  
  
"And last I saw you was just over two hundred and fifty years ago when you were still just a struggling amazon warrior, convinced of your own superiority and blinded by tradition." Petra's voice stayed Cologne where she was. It was a moment of memories, though little second thoughts about canceling her call for Ranma. That was until the strange girl continued. "And you battled an outsider younger than you were then, using a battle staff." Cologne peered over at the girl suspiciously, but while Petra's smile had faded, the relaxed posture hadn't changed.  
  
"Now, the staff was straight and with numerous coloured ropes wrapping the center," Petra continued, her eyes making an obvious move to Cologne's current staff and cane. "Capped on both ends with metal. As I recall, you were actually pretty good."  
  
The battle was not forgotten by Cologne either. She had fought many people two centuries ago, but they had all been from the mystical valley. Musk, Phoenix or Amazon, there were few others foolish enough to challenge her then. There had been only two outsiders Cologne ever did battle with. And this girl wasn't Happosai. She looked at Petra suspiciously through half lidded eyes. "And what was said after I defeated this young outsider?"  
  
Petra rocked back in her seat. "As I recall it was I that won, Cologne. I tripped you with your own staff and told you that you were two hundred years too early to defeat me."  
  
Cologne hesitated a moment, considering Mousse who slept upstairs for the briefest of moments. How she wished for Shampoo's presence, but the girl before her still appeared unaggressive in nature. Reluctantly she sat back into her chair and peered at Petra. "So, it is true."  
  
"I'm not sure," Petra answered, scratching the back of her head rather uncertainly. "Truth changes as time progresses."  
  
"From the tales," Cologne answered stubbornly, "the Wingless Phoenix was an immortal monster. A creature of the night that would eat young girls who ventured out too late."  
  
"Exaggerations," Petra answered, though her smile returned full force as her cheeks reddened slightly. "I've lost my humanity, true, but the eating little amazons was a misunderstanding."  
  
Her tone sounded sincere enough that Cologne gave pause before she caught the mischievous look in the girl's eyes. Then she let loose with a loud cackle that she tried to cover as best as she could lest she wake up the unruly male. It ended in an undignified snort. "Indeed. Can't say that I put much faith in that story anyway."  
  
"Like all legends," the still red faced Petra answered, "there is a little truth to the story." She breathed in deeply to recompose herself and some of the blush faded from her cheeks. "I may not be immortal, but age has no meaning to me."  
  
Cologne wondered just how the girl had managed it. She sensed a little bit of ki held deep inside the girl, hidden away as she tried to hide it. How much Cologne couldn't say, but the girl was indeed trained in the ways to master it.  
  
"So now that we've settled the who," Petra continued lazily, "I guess we could try that rematch. You're the closest I've got to a friend, until Saffron matures, so I'll go easy on you. I've even let you have those two hundred years and a few extra decades."  
  
Cologne noted the look in the girl's eye, and saw the regret. Time may have no meaning for her, but it certainly continued for even the long-lived amazons. "If you had come a few years ago perhaps I may have accepted the challenge," she answered tiredly. "I'm not as young as I used to be."  
  
"Not the answer I expected from the great Ku Lon," Petra commented with some surprise, using Cologne's proper Chinese Amazon name.  
  
Cologne nodded softly, "not so great." She leaned back into the seat and took a deep shuddering breath. The years in Nerima had not been kind to her, but she couldn't go back. Not now. "As far as the Amazon's know, Ku Lon is dead. Killed while fighting Ranma for the honor of her granddaughter. Only I remain."  
  
"I wondered about that," Petra said softly, her cool voice mixed with a little sadness. "So Ku Lon sacrificed herself so that her granddaughter could live on with honor. Then I shall mourn her passing." The young girl closed her eyes and bowed her head. Cologne hesitated a moment as she wondered what the girl must think of her now, old and dying.  
  
"None of that," she said, still shaken by the thoughts of her own mortality. "I can still change my mind and give you a good blistering."  
  
Petra came up, smiling faintly but the sadness in her eyes had not receded just yet. "This Saotome Ranma, he did defeat Lord Saffron?" It seemed even the ageless was not immune to the effects of time. Cologne could see that she was trying to hide her emotions with the question, but death bothered her greatly.  
  
"Yes, that was Ranma. Not by choice, I can assure you."  
  
Petra looked skyward to the wooden ceiling. "You assume I seek vengeance. In that you're mistaken. My time with Saffron was simply because he would be one of the few who would not die as I lived on. I ask because the time is fast approaching when the likes of Saffron would have been needed most."  
  
Cologne looked at the girl uncertainly. "What time would that be?"  
  
"It would be the very purpose of my existence," Petra answered, no longer looking very confident or relaxed. "I'm a demon hunter. I kill monsters that slip the barrier between our dimensions." Her hand traced a line on the empty table. "The barrier prevents but a few of these creatures from crossing over at a time. These isolated beings I can kill myself."  
  
Petra's hand went flat as she placed her second hand beside it, showing what Cologne guessed to be her physical example of these two worlds. "Saffron discovered the barrier was weakening a century ago. He and I planned a trip to the source to strengthen the barrier, but first I would need to find out why it was failing."  
  
Cologne watched the girl, feeling the tightness of alarm inside her stomach.  
  
"I have discovered two things this past decade," Petra continued tiredly. "One, there is an active gateway within Tokyo itself. Two, that these creatures are coming through that gateway to break the barrier from this side. Knowing Saffron would be returning to his full potential, I went to Phoenix Mountain to collect him. Only I arrived too late. Ranma had beaten Saffron and prematurely restarted the life cycle."  
  
Cologne caught on easily to where this was leading, however this was precisely why Ranma had taken his wife with him into hiding. "You wish for Ranma to join you on your fight."  
  
"I need help," Petra admitted. "I came as fast as I could, but I'm afraid I was unable to interpret the map I was given." She tossed a yellowed map onto the table for Cologne to see. It boggled the mind to even look at. Land patterns and rivers had no meaning. Landmarks were drawn on in pen with bizarre directions on how to reach them.  
  
"I hope you didn't pay too much for this map," Cologne noted. "For starters, Okinawa is an island well to the South of here."  
  
"One of Ranma's rivals happened to be near Phoenix Mountain. He drew the map for me."  
  
Cologne opened her mouth, paused, and closed it again. She tried once more to speak with the same results. There was only one true possibility, though it was as unlikely as it sounded. Ryouga Hibiki. Nobody had seen the likes of him for months. "How long have you been following this... this..." Cologne was at a loss to find a word to adequately describe the map.  
  
"I don't keep track of time very well, but I think I arrived at Phoenix Mountain a good two years behind Ranma. I got the map about a month later and have been following it since."  
  
Cologne again looked at the strange girl in shocked dismay. "My dear child, it's been seven years since Ranma defeated Saffron."  
  
"Seven years." Petra repeated numbly, shock evident on her features.  
  
"Seven, indeed. Much has happened since then." Cologne relaxed wearily, trying to consider how Ryouga had managed to get the mythical being known as the Wingless Phoenix lost for five years.  
  
"Seven years?!" Petra exclaimed, popping out of her seat so forcefully that the chair flew back and crashed against another table and set of chairs behind her. Cologne didn't have to look at her ki to feel the angry spike.  
  
Cologne noted the change even as it happened. Anger fled as an onslaught of panic took its place. Pacing now, the girl moved back and forth ranting about time and the gateway in ways that worried the old amazon.  
  
"I left the gateway sealed with simple wards," Petra whispered worriedly. "While I'll bet they'd last a good few years, no piece of paper is going to survive down there indefinitely. That means it's quite possible that they have the gateway working again," Petra looked up at Cologne, her eyes showing the first signs of fear that Cologne had seen all night. "We might have a little problem." 


	2. Amazon on Patrol

Standard Disclosure Applies: This is fanfiction and I do not currently nor have I ever owned any of the copyrights for this material. I will not now or ever use these characters in an attempt to make money...  
  
.  
  
Reunited We Stand  
  
.  
  
Nabiki had long ago sworn that she had seen enough martial arts to last her a lifetime. Martial arts had been what her family name had stood for. Martial arts had been what had broke it apart. When she and Ukyo had agreed to split the costs on a house, the martial arts thing had been more than a minor point of contention. Ukyo had to practice outdoors, the further from the house the better.  
  
Yet today, Nabiki ventured outside to watch her business partner perform various exotic katas with her sharpened oversized spatula. It was almost but not quite a baker's peel, though the bladed edges had never been intended for cooking.  
  
As Ukyo moved, Nabiki's mind dipped deeper and deeper into her memories. Cologne had called asking for Ranma. The amazon had not bothered with them in years and only then to confirm that she was no longer interested in stealing Ranma away to China. Nabiki hadn't for a moment believed that was the end of the amazons, but she had hoped all the same.  
  
It would be foolish to think that this phone call had nothing to do with martial arts. Ranma had always drawn that kind of attention from others. The question would be 'on what scale was this latest scare going to reach.' Jusendo reached out to grasp Nabiki's heart like an icy talon. She'd nearly lost her younger sister then, only to lose her a few years later because of Ranma.  
  
Ukyo took notice of Nabiki, if a little belatedly. "I thought you hated my morning katas."  
  
Nabiki smiled weakly. "I never said that," she paused, her breath catching in her throat. "I just have this awful feeling, Ukyo."  
  
It was a dark depressing feeling that Ukyo apparently shared. The younger woman nodded and seemed to shiver slightly. "Kinda like some of those adventures Ranchan used to lead us on?"  
  
"That's the feeling," Nabiki admitted. "The feeling that something terrible is going to happen. No matter how strong we think we've become, somebody or something will take it all away."  
  
Ukyo paused a moment before abandoning her morning routine entirely. Her slow strides brought her across the yard, grace hiding strength and the skill of an experienced fighter. For the briefest of moments, Nabiki's mind put a younger image of Ukyo out there on the lawn. An image that was seven years out of date, and yet she could see the parallels all too clearly.  
  
"You're going too," Nabiki commented quietly, her voice soft and worried. Ukyo frowned but didn't deny it. "Whatever it is, your going to fight by Ranma's side. Like before."  
  
"I have to," Ukyo answered with gentleness in her voice that conflicted with the topic so badly it made Nabiki want to scream. "You don't need me here, sugar, and he might need me there."  
  
"He did marry my sister, you know," Nabiki pointed out, feeling the need to convince Ukyo that she didn't have to go. Nabiki regretted the words even as she gave them voice. Certainly she was glad to be past the old Ice Queen bit, but there were moments when Nabiki still longed to hide her emtions away again.  
  
"I can't say that I've forgotten that," came the angered response. "Look sugar, you always enjoyed playing behind the scenes. I enjoyed being out there, pushing myself to the limit. The feeling alone is reward to me. I missed the last great adventure and while I admit I would have been over my head, it still was an experience I regret losing out on."  
  
Nabiki sighed and rested her head in her hands. "Why couldn't you just jump out of a plane or something else a little less crazy?"  
  
The phone rang, signaling an end to their conversation or, if Nabiki had her way, only delayed it. Nabiki waited until the cordless rang a second time while she looked into the eyes of her partner and friend. That dark feeling inside wasn't going away.  
  
"Nabiki speaking," she answered.  
  
.  
  
Mousse followed after the strange girl, uncertain if he should believe what the wrinkled old ghoul had told him. While Cologne had long since abandoned much of the harsh prejudice against his being simply male, she still enjoyed taunting him.  
  
He was older now, and perhaps wiser. At the very least, age had made him more realistic about life and the disappointments that would occur. Shampoo was gone, but that was an ache that no longer hurt. His life as an amazon similarly ended. His eyesight failed to the point no glasses would help, but his ki senses had developed more fully than could ever his eyes.  
  
This one, Mousse thought as he 'watched' the young girl leap to the next roof, this one had an aura about her that frightened him. She seemed far too old, somehow. He picked up the same ancient vibes off Petra as he had off Cologne. Though her voice sounded young, he knew she was not what she appeared to be. And yet there was something more he couldn't identify.  
  
Petra paused, holding onto a satellite dish for support as she gazed over the rooftops. "Juuban," she whispered just loud enough that he could hear it. He kept his own thoughts to himself, quite unwilling to show any sign of weakness. He had a restaurant to take care of and a future to think about. Jumping about the rooftops like he was a kid again was no way to pay the bills.  
  
"You're quiet," Petra noted, suddenly taking interest in his silence. "I haven't heard you do much more than complain to Cologne."  
  
Mousse looked away out towards the horizon, pretending not to hear. "We've got a few more hours of light. We'd better use them."  
  
"Night, day," Petra answered tightly, "it won't matter. If the gateway is active it'll be dangerous all the same. The sewers can't get any darker."  
  
Mousse actually smiled, though it remained a dark and cynical look on the martial artist as his blind eyes traced back to Petra. Night, day, it was all the same to him as well.  
  
He could tell that the strange girl wasn't smiling, he could see the turmoil in her ki that she was trying to hide from him. She was frightened. She knew something that she wasn't telling him, and he worried about what secrets she might be hiding.  
  
Rather than asking the question he knew would be turned aside, he took the lead on the next jump over the rooftops. She followed him after a moment of hesitation, but Mousse stubbornly ignored her as they continued.  
  
She must have sensed that was what he was doing, as she didn't try to speak or hold him up as they continued on. Mousse didn't care overly much. He was here simply to help her scout out something and return her safely to the Nekohaten.  
  
Up ahead he began to see the colours of a great battle being fought. The power being thrown around made him wonder if Petra's worries had indeed be sound. He could tell there were six powers, though beyond that he knew little. They were too far off at this point.  
  
"There's a fight up ahead," Mousse noted as he waited for Petra to land beside him.  
  
Petra seemed alert to the possibility that it might be dangerous to them. "Where?" She asked, her eyes scanning the rooftops worriedly.  
  
"Five blocks, that way," he answered, pointing the way.  
  
It took only a moment for Petra to follow his finger towards the fight. While she may not have been able to sense it, she did recognize the area. "I recognize that tower. The gateway is in the sewers beneath it."  
  
Mousse remained silent. That put the fight pretty much overtop of their destination. If any of either side were hostile, it might slow them up a bit. He had little doubt however that he would be able to beat his way through.  
  
Instead of telling her this, he started moving once more, increasing his speed. He wanted to find a point to attack with surprise on his side.  
  
The closer he got the stronger the power he could sense. At first he had assumed they were unclear because of the distances involved, but it was becoming obvious that they were all extremely powerful. Their auras did not speak of great ki mastery, but a power of another kind. They fairly glowed with raw energy that made the old hag look like a baby.  
  
Now even Petra could feel their presence. "Demon," she hissed into the wind as she chased after him. Her senses fixed onto the demon and shunted all else from her mind. Mousse picked up on the vehemence of her voice and saw her ki twist in the most horrific ways. That level of hatred was not pretty.  
  
The creature in question was large and misshapen. While vaguely human in that it had two arms, two legs and a head, very little else matched with what Mousse could recognize. It easily appeared to out-mass even Tarou's cursed form.  
  
Mouse watched Petra, unsure of what to expect as she drew her bow. She didn't carry arrows, but he had experienced enough in his lifetime that he was anticipating some sort of magical attack.  
  
His attention was easily sidetracked by the actions of five young girls throwing magic at the monster. Their power dwarfed that of Petra's, but the way they moved spoke of little training or experience. "Who are they?" he asked his companion, forgetting his anger at being used by the old hag.  
  
"Demon hunters," Petra dismissed easily as if they were of little concern. She paused for a moment, studying and reassessing what she saw. The full lot of them barely missed being smashed by a blast of energy. "Must be amateur night."  
  
"And you're only a few years older than they are," Mousse snorted as he watched from above. Aura aside, Petra sounded much younger than he was. It was hard to judge her age correctly. Besides, he wanted to bring her down a peg. She was sounding far too high and mighty.  
  
Oddly enough, Petra replied with action. She pointed her bow, stretched the string tight and released in rapid motion, hardly taking aim at all as she fired. Mousse could see the attack with his aura sense and he could hear it with his ears. The ki arrow fairly screamed through the air in a loud shriek that buried the sounds of combat.  
  
The demon took the impact full in the head. Her ki energies ripped into the creature in an instant, violently disrupting it's life energies. With an anguished scream, the monster dissolved into the wind as if it had been merely imagined.  
  
Mousse looked on, mildly surprised by the result. His earlier opinion of Petra's aura seemed confirmed. She was far more dangerous than she let on. While he had managed some ki strengthening, a full out ki blast had always eluded him. The strength she had put into that almost casual attack had been several times more powerful than Ranma had generally displayed.  
  
"As I said," Petra told him in a scolding manor, "they're amateurs."  
  
Another look to the five stunned girls let Mousse in on the truth of Petra's words. They had taken up a loosely defensive posture, as they looked about for the source of the attack, seemingly blind to their presence. It wasn't dark and Mousse knew that neither he nor Petra were trying to hide, yet they were blind to them all the same.  
  
Still, there was one thing in their favor. "They're pretty strong. Even that old ghoul doesn't have that much power."  
  
"Then don't make them angry." He could almost hear the smirk on Petra's lips. "Come on, warding the gateway is our priority." She turned away from the untrained hunters and began walking down the slope of the roof as if walking down the street.  
  
Mousse wasn't about to let her off that easily. Something wasn't making sense. "You don't need me. If you can beat these things so easily, what are you afraid of?"  
  
She stopped, but the swirl of her aura was a wild pattern of anxious fear and worry. "A single demon can be handled easily by a trained hunter," she answered tightly. "Two is a little tougher. But a dozen? A hundred? A thousand? I need more than just you. That gateway can transport in more at a moments notice," she told him, turning her head so that she looked over her shoulder at him. She slipped her bow over her arm as she waited for a reaction.   
  
When Mousse didn't offer one but his own look of uncertain fears, she turned away again. "Come on," she said in a softer voice that seemed almost apologetic. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can get out of here. The real fight will come later. If we live."  
  
.  
  
Sewers. Petra hated them. They smelled bad, they were dark, wet and infested with rats and other undesirable things. If ever there was a hell on earth, it would be the sewer system of a large crowded city.  
  
Then of course there was the simple fact that demons loved places like these. It was secluded and private yet within easy striking distance at whatever prey they wished.  
  
This was further strengthened by memories of a decade or so ago when she had last seen these very sewer pipes. She had gone in cocky with full belief that she could win in face of anything she could encounter. It must have taken several months before she was able to return from that voyage into the dark and she wasn't anxious to have a repeat performance of that showing.  
  
This particular section of the sewers had been built over a forgotten cave once used by dimensional gating beings. This only made it all the more desirable to those she hunted. All it took was a small break in the pipes and the demons had full access to the entire district.  
  
"I hate sewers," she told Mousse bluntly, voicing her feelings. Her bow was already out and at the ready. She hoped to catch any demon at range. In close and she would lose any advantage she might have.  
  
Mousse didn't argue with her as he was inclined to agree. He doubted any self-respect amazon warrior would have found their way down into this muck without promise of some masterfully great reward in the end.  
  
"Odd," Petra's voice noted with the sound of somebody being deeply troubled by something. Mousse noticed her looking at a small ward, glowing brightly in her hand. He imagined her eyes saw it with somewhat less glowing brilliance, but she probably could feel its power. It seemed to create small eddies in her wildly chaotic aura simply by touching it.  
  
The demon hunter turned to face him, confusion thick in her deceptively young voice. "This ward has been strengthened. Somebody else has been maintaining the wards."  
  
Mousse considered this for just a moment. He might admit that he wasn't as sharp or observant as a few other people he had met, but something didn't quite fit with Petra's observation. "If the wards are being looked after, why was there a demon on street level?"  
  
"I don't know," she answered. There was no need for her to say more. They both knew they were going to find out.  
  
.  
  
Nabiki was waiting by the door when the small car slowed to a stop in front of her small home. She hadn't been waiting all that long. Her contacts had in fact reported when the car had turned off the freeway. Some things never changed in Nerima. Nabiki knew that her craving for information was one of them.  
  
Others, like Kasumi and her ever-calm husband, were changes beyond expectations. Kasumi had found her happiness. She looked after herself these days and her remaining family. She had two lovely daughters to care for these days. It was her husband Doctor Ono Tofu who had changed the most. If not for Kasumi, Nabiki knew she would never have found her younger sister.  
  
The light pads of feet on stairs behind her announced Ukyo's timely arrival. It brought Nabiki out of her memories and back to the present. "Like old times again, huh sugar?" The voice only confirmed what Nabiki had already expected. This was of course one of the many things she did not need to be informed on to make the correct call.  
  
"With the threat of danger on the horizon because of our boy Ranma? What could possibly remind you of the old days?"  
  
Ukyo's steady march faltered for a moment before continuing at a more rapid pace. "That's not fair, Nabiki."  
  
Nabiki didn't reconsider her stance. "Then how would you interpret the facts? Cologne is pestering us because of some ancient Chinese threat. Now note that we would never be in this position had it not been for Ranma."  
  
Ukyo forcefully turned Nabiki away from the door with the strength of her anger. Her angry brown eyes glared at Nabiki burning with rage. "And if it weren't for Ranma you would never have met your partner! You should be thankful for what you have."  
  
Nabiki frowned at Ukyo's emotional outburst and considered her sister approaching the door. A sister she hadn't seen in five years. It was because of Ranma that her family had fallen apart.  
  
Even before the weddings, Nabiki knew she should have seen the signs. She had shared on some of Ranma's adventures and had seen first hand what these people were capable of. It seemed like only blind luck that nobody had been killed. Nabiki didn't like banking on luck. "I just don't want to lose any more than I already have," she told her friend before turning to face the door.  
  
Her face fell upon the taller form of Akane's husband. It wasn't the first time she considered what her life would have been without Ranma. Though admittedly, seeing the smile on Akane's face, it was one of the first times she considered the impact he had on her younger sister. Nabiki was hard put to remember a time when Akane looked happier.  
  
With a heavy sigh, Nabiki composed herself and swung the door open even as Akane reached out for the doorbell. With a forced smile, Nabiki greeted them. Ranma was family, she had to accept that fact. Why couldn't her family be normal?  
  
.  
  
Notes:  
  
Yes, there are some minor crossover elements here, but are hardly worth noting at present. I do not plan any leading moments for the likes of the senshi. Not to say it's impossible, but I find it highly unlikely they will play much a role in this story.  
  
ShadowBakaSama: I had this chapter all ready to go until I read your review. I wanted to make sure it would at least live up to some expectations. I hadn't planned any flashbacks, but there were some less than happy moments past that will be revisited. 


	3. An Apology From Ranma

Standard Disclosure Applies: This is fanfiction and I do not currently nor have I ever owned any of the copyrights for this material. I will not now or ever use these characters in an attempt to make money...  
  
.  
  
Reunited We Stand  
  
.  
  
Progress was slow. This was not due to caution or any difficulty with the sewer layouts but with Petra's own reluctance. Memories were becoming stronger with every step closer to the gateway she came. So was the battle inside her. She wasn't in any danger of losing control, but she recognized the signs.  
  
Watching Mousse, Petra realized that he seemed to have his own problems. The water level was high enough that some of it overran onto the service walkway. Petra admitted the thought of what might be in the water was pretty scary, but he was acting down right childish. He was treating the water like it would hurt him. He softly padded around as much as he could and when he had little choice he put his foot into the water slowly so that he would cause little more than a ripple in the shallow puddles.  
  
Petra spotted another ward, this one wasn't hers. The writing was more fluid and natural than her own. The characters were definitely kanji written in confident brush strokes, something Petra had never been able to accomplish. Japanese kanji had never been one of her strong suits. She let her fingers brush against the paper and silently thanked whoever had left them.  
  
Pain shot through her senses like lightning and she doubled over under the powerful sensations. While it lasted only a moment it stole her breath away and Petra found herself gasping at the foul air. The darkness inside her apparently didn't like her handling of the ward.  
  
"Want to explain what that was about?" Petra shot Mousse an angry glare, but that was about all she would answer that question with. This was her problem and one that nobody could heal. Besides, she would rather do this without anybody's pity or lectures on recklessness.  
  
"The paper is damp, but not soft. It hasn't been down here too long," she told him instead. "We're getting close." She tried to stand up again and nearly fell into the muck filled trench. Stabilized at last, she looked ahead. It wouldn't be much further at all.  
  
She looked over her shoulder and noted the suspicion and concern on her companion's face. "Look, we're not here to do anything more than to assess the situation. If we're attacked we can run." The former amazon didn't break his silence to reply. He didn't look any relieved either.  
  
"If you're not going to say anything, do yourself a favor and try to hide your contempt for me. I may seem weak now, but I will not fall until this world is no longer threatened by these monsters. It may take another five hundred years, but take me at my word. Now get moving, we've already been down here an hour too long."  
  
The amazon sighed almost as if dealing with a stubborn child. "It's been ten minutes."  
  
A child was suddenly what she felt like. "Oh," she remarked and rather wished that it had been hours too long.  
  
Embarrassed and growling with unspent anger, Petra turned away from Mousse and stumbled forward. Somehow she wasn't surprised that this one would not only ignore her but also find a way to get under her skin without saying much of anything.   
  
That demon was picking a wonderful time to get active as well. It seemed everybody had to try and stop her from reaching her destiny. Petra nearly stumbled over again but she held herself upright by leaning her weight against the interior wall. The darkness was getting stronger the closer she came to the gateway. She could feel its fear threatening to overwhelm her. Why it feared the gateway, Petra couldn't begin to comprehend.  
  
"Come on," she huffed as she managed to stumble forward. "It's not much farther." Petra could think no other thought beyond seeing the gateway once more.  
  
.  
  
They sat in the living room drinking tea like this was a daily occurrence. Small talk passed easily between them as if the years had been only weeks. Nabiki could feel how forced this atmosphere was, but she didn't for a minute presume that this was going to be easy. She was grateful for the moment anyway.  
  
Despite the fact she knew that Cologne would have some sort of valid reasoning, Nabiki wished Ranma would turn this fight down. For the sake of friends and family, Nabiki was ready to step in and argue that point with Ranma should he choose to go. The martial artist had too much to lose now. There were far more important things in life than pride and reputation.  
  
Akane seemed so happy with him, why Nabiki couldn't begin to imagine. Akane hadn't changed a bit. She kept her hair cut short and she had grown taller, but it was still the same little sister Nabiki had looked after. Her sister's happiness was the sole reason she hadn't sought them out these past few years. If they wanted to hide from her, intruding into their lives wouldn't make things any easier.  
  
And now they had a daughter.  
  
Why hadn't Kasumi told her that Ranma and Akane had a daughter? The little girl was only a year old, but that meant her life was kept a secret from her for nearly two. Saotome Takami, they said her name was when they first walked in the door. Nabiki felt hurt that Akane would think so little of her, but she wouldn't let that show. It wasn't her turn yet and when it came time she would hold those feelings locked away and under control.  
  
Little Takami just made Nabiki's reasons all the more important. Ranma had to understand that he couldn't take up this fight. Nabiki shifted her gaze to the man who sat beside Akane on the sofa. He hadn't changed much either. Much of that wild look of his high school life had matured into strong looking young man. He was still the same gorgeous, if a bit gullible, man that had introduce them all to the chaos that was his life.  
  
Ukyo leaned over Nabiki's shoulder from where she stood behind the chair, staring dreamily at the baby girl. At least things were peaceful at the moment. A good start.  
  
"I suppose Kasumi told you why I was looking for you," Nabiki spoke up as she set her tea aside. She knew Ukyo was going to mention the pending battle sooner or later and it was better if Nabiki grabbed the upper hand. She figured she would need every advantage she could get. "Cologne called us up late last night and said she needed to speak with you. She made it very clear that this wasn't just a friendly invite to dinner."  
  
Both Ranma and Akane weren't smiling any more and Nabiki wondered if they had forced themselves to look at ease as well. They simply looked to each other and nodded sadly. They had already had this conversation with each other. Nabiki hoped Akane was able to talk sense into the prideful fighter.  
  
"I understand," Ranma answered uneasily. "She promised she wouldn't interfere any more and she kept that promise. I'll see her tomorrow."  
  
Nabiki felt her heart skip a beat. "You're not actually going to go over there just like that, are you?"  
  
Ranma scowled then looked to his daughter. The face he made melted away as if it had never appeared. "Cologne wouldn't look for me without a good reason. You know that, Nabiki."  
  
She did but all the same Nabiki felt her hands curl up tightly around handfuls of the cushioned seat. "You're going. Just like that you're going to start fighting again. I thought you had grown up Saotome. What happens to Akane if you get killed? What happens to Takami?"  
  
The previous scowl turned to outright anger as he directed his glare at her. Akane put a calming hand on his arm that seemed to deflate his moment before he could answer. He breathed in deeply and nodded again, apparently to himself or something Akane told him earlier. "I never said I was going to fight anybody." He even flashed her an odd grin that reminded Nabiki of that confident smirk he used to wear. "You of all people should know the importance of making a decision without knowing all the facts."  
  
"I don't like this," Nabiki grumbled as she tried to keep her voice under control. Last thing she wanted was a screaming niece in her living room. "She knows too many ways to manipulate people into doing what she wants."  
  
"And you don't, sugar?" Ukyo laughed lightly as though this were a game. "You're selling yourself short."  
  
Nabiki grimaced and forced herself to remain silent less she snap at her friend. More to her annoyance, both Ranma and Akane grinned at Ukyo's lighthearted comment.  
  
"Nabiki, we've grown up a lot since then," Akane told her with forced calm. "Ranma doesn't get into fights like back then."  
  
Ranma apparently hadn't changed as much as Akane had implied. "And Akane almost cooks edible food these days. Ouch!" Akane's backhand didn't have much force to it, certainly not enough to hurt Ranma, but it served as a clear reminder that the pair were the same two people Nabiki had once known.  
  
"Akane, would you excuse your sister and I for a moment?" Ranma asked politely as he looked across the table at Nabiki. "I'm sure Ukyo would love to catch up." Ukyo nodded and slipped around Nabiki's chair so that she could slide in for another peek at the little girl wrapped up in Akane's arms.  
  
"Nabiki?" Ranma's voice sounded inviting, but she caught the underlying edge in his voice. This wasn't an invitation she had a choice of turning down. Not like she was going to pass up the opportunity anyway.  
  
She made a show of standing up and stretching as if she had been sitting far too long. "Well come on then, Saotome. I'll show you where Ukyo likes to train."  
  
Nabiki didn't provide the 'tour' of her place as she led Ranma directly to the backyard. Frankly, she couldn't give a damn what Ranma thought of her right now. The fact remained she was going to make him know that his place was by Akane and not gallivanting somewhere in China on the whim of some ancient old amazon.  
  
She opened the back door and held it open for Ranma to go first. He did so without a word, but there was no hostility and little anger as he passed her. Sure, Nabiki couldn't see auras or use ki or anything like that, but it had been her business to read people for a very long time. She was extremely good at what she did.  
  
"Go ahead," Nabiki motioned to the open grass. "Knock yourself out and practice kata or something. Prepare for the big fight." There was so little open space in the city that she wondered if Ranma was able to find such a place. He and Akane couldn't possibly afford to live in like they had at the dojo before the third wedding.  
  
"I'm sorry Nabiki," Ranma said softly without looking her way. Nabiki almost missed it, but the words were just barely loud enough to hear and they wouldn't vanish so easily.  
  
"What?" Nabiki asked, utterly confused by Ranma's apology. She wasn't trying to blow it off, she knew false apologies weren't something Ranma specialized in. The question really came down to why he felt the need.  
  
Ranma looked straight at her and she could easily read the regret. "I shouldn't have made this so hard on you. When Akane and I got married we decided we didn't want everybody chasing us. So we moved and only told a few people where we were going. We made them promise not to tell anybody."  
  
Nabiki, formerly the Ice Queen of Nerima, couldn't meet his eyes suddenly. All those years of hiding her pain and anger, and Ranma of all people seemed to be able to spot it. She looked to the sky to hide the emotions she apparently couldn't keep tucked away.  
  
"Akane wanted to tell you, but I wouldn't let her. I thought you'd just sell the information to everybody and then everything would just start over. It just became easier not to deal with it after a while." While his admission and apology wasn't going to make everything better again, it was a start. She respected his honesty and to a point she could even understand his perspective. That didn't mean she had forgiven him.  
  
Smirking slightly, an expression entirely false, Nabiki tried to relax Ranma or at the very least put him back to the level he had sat when they lived together in high school. "Relax Saotome, as you can see, if I ever really felt the urge, I could find you easily enough. I knew Kasumi would know where you were."  
  
He didn't look like he believed her for a moment. "Why didn't you?"  
  
Funny, Nabiki thought it should be raining. The clear sunset seemed to be the wrong atmosphere for a moment like this. That was probably Ranma's fault as well. "As much as it pains me to admit, I was waiting for you. I figured you didn't want me in your life. I know I would have done the same after the things I've done to you. Rather than make Akane miserable, I left you two alone like you wanted."  
  
"Nabiki," Ranma started, though he trailed off unable to think of anything further to say. Nabiki used the moment to smirk in his direction and land a cheap shot.  
  
"Look, Ranma. I wanted a normal life. Normal wasn't you."  
  
"I didn't want any of that either."  
  
"Easy for you to say." She sat down on the steps and gazed out into the grass. Only a few hours ago she had been out here watching Ukyo. This wasn't one of her better days. "I was angry with you for taking my sister away from me back then. Truth is, I still am. All that doesn't matter any more. I want my family safe. I've been thinking about this all day. You're family too now and I always look after my family. Ukyo has been running about packing up her things and preparing like this is going to be some camping trip. I'm afraid I'm going to lose her too. You've taken just about everybody else away from me. Sounds crazy, right?"  
  
"Not really," Ranma answered intelligently. Nabiki glared at him. It wasn't fair that he was taking this so easily. Then again, Ranma was never very good at barring his feelings so she guessed his simple answer was only right.  
  
The worst part was, she missed that. She missed having him around and she hadn't even realized it. He definitely added a certain something in her life that had seemed to be empty without him.  
  
"I've got a bad feeling about this. I don't want you to get involved," she told him straight up. "I want my family back."  
  
Ranma, for his part, just stood there considering her words. She could see his mind working. He was smart, she had always known that, but often times he couldn't see what was obvious to everybody else. Worse, he was always easy to trick. He was just too honest and trusting for his own good.  
  
There were plenty of good things about Ranma. She would have to be pretty lucky to find somebody like him. Only, she hoped when her soul mate appeared, she hoped that he wouldn't bring a line of fiancées stringing along behind him.  
  
Akane's husband seemed to come to a conclusion on whatever it was that had him thinking. "Tell ya what," he said, his words losing their educated sound giving him a voice from the past. "When I go to see Cologne tomorrow, you can come with me. How's that?"  
  
"Thanks Saotome," she answered flatly. "You really made my day. How could I ever possibly repay you." Even Ranma didn't miss the cold sarcastic tone in her voice. He looked apologetic when he shrugged.  
  
"Well, you wanted to make sure Cologne didn't try something. Who better to watch out for me?"  
  
That was the oddest compliment she had received in a very long time. In a strange way, it made her feel a little more relaxed. Even that fear that something was going to happen faded. "You owe me big for this, Saotome," she told him in that mercenary tone she performed so well.  
  
"I'll make dinner tonight," Ranma promised, a half smile slipping on his face. Strangely enough, that looked more natural than any of his over-confident grins.  
  
Nabiki made a show of considering the offer as if it were in her best interest to reject the idea before nodding. "Deal," she said as she allowed herself to smile.  
  
Perhaps this wasn't such a bad thing after all. Tonight she would celebrate life with her family and new niece and tomorrow they would all go down to the Nekohaten together and tell Cologne to go to hell. Things couldn't possibly be any better.  
  
Mousse wasn't certain that the situation could get any worse. Petra had doubled over again in pain and had actually fallen to her knees. He wasn't about to step forward to help the fallen girl and he felt the strange urge to step back for his own safety. Her aura was reacting violently to something down here.  
  
"I suppose that was nothing as well," Mousse snapped at her, hiding his own fears deep beneath his anger. He wasn't expecting an explanation this time either. As expected, Petra merely waved him off as she collected her wits.  
  
.  
  
This was not looking like such a good plan. If Petra was taken out before any fighting began, Mousse wondered just how effective his own abilities would be. She had seemed perfectly fine at street level.  
  
Petra was back on her feet, but leaning heavily against the wall for support. This was not a promising sign. Common sense told Mousse that a retreat would make more sense than pressing on under these circumstances.  
  
"Hey," Mousse called as she started to stumble forward. "Maybe we should go back."  
  
She shook her head rather violently and started a stumbling jog forward. Mousse cursed and chased after her. Without a strategy and Petra almost incapacitated this seemed like an unnecessary risk. It made more sense to wait until she recovered before moving closer to danger.  
  
Mousse guessed where she was going before they reached it. There was a break in the cement and brick. He had no idea how deep they were in the sewers, but the crack was easily wide enough to squeeze through and it seemed better lit in the hole than it was in the sewer. A blue-white glow seemed to bleed into the sewer and reflect off the surface of the water. An eerie sign as Mousse knew the light he was seeing had nothing to do with illumination and everything to do with power.  
  
"Wait!" Mousse called ahead as Petra nearly dove into the hole. She didn't listen. Nobody ever listened to him, he grumbled. In she went. Her aura swallowed up by the energies that swirled about in there. Mousse hadn't lost sight of her for more than half a second before her screams reached him. A loud lung emptying scream that stopped him cold. Bursts of spiritual energy flared out from the opening.  
  
Mousse forced his weighted limbs back into motion as he pressed his body for speed. He turned the corner expecting to find Petra being ripped apart by some demonic creature. What he found instead was Petra being held upright and still by the power of the spirit wards around the entrance. He'd never seen anything quite like it. Wards such as these were not supposed to have an effect on people. Energy arced from the paper to her body in bright flashes paralyzing her under the assault.  
  
Petra's scream ended in silence and she flopped to the floor as the seals released her. Mousse hesitated before moving to help her. She seemed to be breathing still, rather heavily panting at that. Her ki had calmed, the wild storm of energy dispersed by unconsciousness.  
  
Instead of diving in and possibly ending up the same way, he surveyed the room. It was a fairly large room, in fact, but there were no other entrances or exits. As expected, there was some sort of glowing blue-white circle of symbols on the floor. The entire room nearly breathed on its own with such indescribable power. The gateway Petra had mentioned was indeed something belonging to another world.  
  
The surprise came in the way of wards. They had found maybe three of those paper wards along the way. Inside the gateway room had been wallpapered with overlapping wards of various designs. Mousse was able to see that many of them were faded and weakened, but there were plenty of powerful ones left in waiting. If these things did what they were supposed to, there wouldn't be anything coming through that gateway.  
  
That satisfied, Mousse checked his surroundings again. He edged in slowly, keeping a watchful eye on the wards for any sign of attack. If he ended up on the floor next to Petra there would be nobody left to save them. He put his arm through the opening and prepared himself for the assault.  
  
Nothing happened.  
  
Mousse blinked his blue eyes absently and put a foot through the opening. He was fairly certain this time nothing would happen so he wasn't as surprised when in fact nothing did. That brought his attention back to the girl lying on the floor. The wards had targeted her and it wasn't for simply entering the room. That was a question for later, however. First he needed to get her out of here and back to Nerima.  
  
"Who's down here?"  
  
The voice sounded normal enough. Mousse held perfectly still and listened as footsteps made there way closer. It sounded like a young man, but he'd already seen enough today to not take anything at face value. He was quite willing to wait. Mousse touched Petra to pick her up, but even brushing against her caused a half-conscious moan. Lifting her might create even more noise.  
  
"I know you're down here," the voice called out defiantly, though his pace had not picked up.  
  
Mousse abandoned hopes of moving Petra in time. He wasn't going to abandon her though. With a quick look he determined the best place to protect over her, a small rusted pipe just above the opening. From there he could see Petra and whoever was coming and be able to react fast enough. He hoped.  
  
"Damn," the man muttered as he came around. Mousse saw the beam of a flashlight dance about on the floor before it settled on Petra's motionless body.  
  
A young man in a business suit rushed in carrying a flashlight and a wide bag, which he set aside to examine Petra. That's when Mousse made his move. He dropped in behind drawing his steel claws from his robe for a quick victory. Unfortunately the man panicked before realizing the danger, or perhaps maybe he had guessed that his life was in danger. He moved even faster and pressed himself against the wall once he saw Mousse.  
  
And then he looked oddly relieved. "I should have guessed. Mousse." The man's head sank into his chest and he breathed out deeply in a sigh of relief.  
  
Mousse didn't relax. "Who are you?"  
  
Amusement swirled in the man's ki. "Right, nobody ever remembered me. I'm Gosunkugi Hikaru. I went to Furinkan with Akane." The man was thin almost to the point of being lanky and hadn't much ki potential, but Mousse recalled that Gosunkugi had been a rather sickly looking kid. The boy everybody just called Gosunkugi had been among the loons who wanted Ranma out of the way so he could get Akane for himself. He didn't rate high in the eyes of the former amazon.   
  
Mousse greeted this 'old friend' with a cynical look. "I think you should come with me, Gosunkugi." Mousse wanted answers and he knew that the old hag would have questions of her own. There were too many secrets and it was about damn time somebody started talking.  
  
.  
  
Notes:  
  
Oops. Gosunkugi's name is now spelled correctly. Rats. I checked that before long before I posted but the corrections never filtered down into the actual story. Thanks! 


	4. Shall we dance?

Reunited We Stand  
  
Mousse stepped through the door of the Nekohaten a little after dark. Had the restaurant been open tonight it would have been filled with customers out enjoying the foreign food and atmosphere. Instead it was silent and appeared lifeless. Much like the girl he carried over his shoulder.  
  
Appearances in both cases were deceiving.  
  
Cologne rested in a chair by the counter, her cane lying across her lap as she watched the door. Mousse wondered idly if she had watched it all afternoon. If she was surprised to see the state of Petra, she didn't show it. Her expression didn't shift but her eyes followed him as he stepped inside.  
  
She showed no more surprise when Gosunkugi walk in still wearing his business suit and carrying his brief case. Mousse felt oddly disappointed.  
  
"Well?" was all that she asked him as her half-lidded eyes gazed in his direction. There was no mistaking the topic of her question. In truth, Mousse rather wished she had asked about anything but that.  
  
This wasn't his fight and he wasn't looking to get involved in one. From what he had seen Petra do on the rooftops he knew this would not be an easy one should he somehow get dragged into this.  
On the other hand, he had seen the gateway that Petra had been so worried about. It was no threat to anybody, Gosunkugi was seeing to that. That was a story for the old hag. As much as he wanted to know, he wasn't in the mood for it tonight.  
  
"We found the portal," he told her truthfully as he scowled at her impatience. His blind eyes didn't waver from the old woman under her stare as they might have once. "It's sealed. I don't think we have anything to worry about."  
  
"No, I don't suppose you do think anything of the sort," she answered without sounding impressed by his judgement. He felt his control waiver for the briefest of moments before he made his way to one of the booths. He lowered Petra on the cushioned seat, perhaps a little too hurriedly, and made his way toward the stairs. He wasn't in the mood to argue.  
  
"And who are you, young man?" Cologne questioned Gosunkugi next as she bounced on her cane to Petra's still form. "What part do you play in this?"  
  
Mousse listened as he headed for the stairs with half interest. He smirked at the thought that all this worry had been headed off by the likes of the Furinkan voodoo master. Gosunkugi stuttered. Somehow that wasn't surprising, considering the boy of the past. Given enough time, Gosunkugi may have even completed introducing himself. As it turned out, he didn't.  
  
The wall exploded inward next to the stairwell. Broken boards and wooden splinters assaulted Mousse as he lifted his long sleeves to protect himself while he cursed whoever had mistaken the wall for a door.  
  
That was when the creature made a noise that sounded like a cross between a growl and a freight train. Mousse looked over the top of his arm at the glowing power that had burst through the side of his restaurant. Once more he told himself that this was not his fight.  
Not that he had much choice.  
  


* * *

  
  
Walking in the dimly lit corridors of the old mansion was never anything less than something of a bad suspense flick. Tasuki listened to each of his footsteps as they echoed loudly along the stone floors. It was the only sound to be heard. None of the other occupants seemed to be about to break the silence this evening.  
  
Tasuki closed his eyes and remembered back before when these same halls had been filled with laughter. Auntie Sonoda had dozens of young teens living here always ready to help each other. The house had been home then. Now it was just a roof over his head while he waited for life to start again.  
  
Opening his eyes again he stopped suddenly to avoid crashing into another of the residents. Maeko Sachi stood silently watching him in the hall in a manor of dark contemplation. One of his sister's friends, a more recent addition. This one was forever silent but at the same time Tasuki knew that her skills were top notch. She was short tempered and a ruthless fighter.  
  
His eyes were drawn to the midnight black choker that circled her neck. He noted the harsh edges of the massive scarring that the material nearly hid and wondered if perhaps she hadn't already killed at some point.  
  
"Good evening, Mae," he spoke carefully so as not to provoke another battle between them. As it was, the fighting between them had been too frequent. Their fights ended up draws more often than not, but not due to any skill on his part.  
  
Mae nodded in greeting, though her manor had not warmed up to him. The scarred fighter's dark hair roped down her back in a long black pony-tail while she dressed in likewise black clothing. It made her look pale and bloodless in even in the light of day.  
  
With a sigh, Tasuki tried to ease some of the tension that seemed forever between them. "Do you know if Miyuki is up yet?"  
  
Mae was still a moment before she nodded once. The corners of her mouth tipped into a frown as she did so. She lifted a hand to her ear and made like it was talking into her ear.  
  
"Again?" he responded uneasily. It was not a good sign. His sister was becoming increasingly unstable it seemed with the passing of each day. Even Maeko had picked that up. "Okay, thank you Mae. Tea is ready in the kitchen if you want some."  
  
Mae hesitated for a moment, staring into his eyes in a very disconcerting way. She broke the moment with a dull nod, and while still not smiling, she stepped past him and headed for the kitchen.  
  
Breathing out a sigh of relief, Tasuki put the moment behind him and composed himself for the task at hand. Meeting Mae didn't help his beginning feelings of paranoia. This wing of the complex seemed to always be dark no matter how many lights were switched on. The shadows seemed to shift and move about on their own in search of the best spots to lurk.  
  
On reaching his sister's room he paused at the door and listened. He could hear her speaking, as Mae had noted, but as he suspected there was no answer to her words. Had this been anybody else, Tasuki would have thought little of it. Despite the old building, he was quite familiar with the telephone. Miyuki despised technology however. Torches would still light the house had it not become an issue with the other residents.  
  
Telephones were something that was not a necessity however. The tenants were allowed their cell phones, provided they went unseen by Miyuki. Tasuki's own was in several pieces and he had yet to replace it since it rang in her presence.  
  
"Miyuki," he spoke as he knocked on the door. "Dinner is ready."  
  
Miyuki's voice dropped to a whisper as she hushed her imagined companion. "I will be right out, Tasuki. Thank you."  
  
"Don't wait too long, it'll get cold."  
  
"Yes, thank you," she continued forcefully. Tasuki was already turning away from the closed door however. It was disheartening to hear his sister lose her mind, but she would not accept any help.  
"Tasuki. Wait." Or perhaps she would, Tasuki thought hopefully as he stopped again. The thought was quickly banished again as too optimistic to be real.  
  
"Yes, Miyuki?"  
  
"Please, come inside."  
  
Intrigued, Tasuki did as she asked. Miyuki's room was dark, lit only by a pair of small candles. Heavy curtains blocked the fading sunlight from the window. The items illuminated enough to see ranged from exotic perfumes to arcane objects. Shadows danced and played over everything.  
Hidden in the shadows was his sister, though he could only make out her shape. He could tell that she was dressed in her school uniform, despite it being a Saturday. There was also the point that she had not been to that school in twelve years.  
  
"Why don't you open the blind? It's dark in here," he suggested, knowing that she would not accept his opinion.  
  
"Does the dark make you uncomfortable, Tasuki?" He pretended not to hear the odd mocking tone that slipped into her voice as she spoke to him.  
  
"I haven't been afraid of the dark since I was five."  
  
"There are still things in the dark you should fear. There are always those that lurk in the shadows in wait for opportunity." She cackled in a mildly disturbing way tossing her head back in full manic glee.  
  
"Miyuki."  
  
She calmed herself slowly, sounding slightly miffed at being interrupted. "Yes, Tasuki. Very well." A flame appeared illuminating the room. It hovered over her palm as she held it out and upright in front of her. "Better?"  
  
"Much," he admitted as he could see her face now. She was indeed wearing her school uniform and her long brown hair was still styled in that odd double ponytail she had taken to. A perfect middle school image. Pity she wasn't.  
  
As for the magical flame, it was hardly worth noting. His sister was a master of fire magic. A number of the residents were also heavily into magic. A simple fire like that was hardly a challenge to Miyuki.  
  
"Tasuki, there is a task I would have you complete for me tonight."  
  
Tasuki frowned. "Is there something you need?"  
  
"In a manor of speaking," Miyuki answered. "There is a young man who needs to be convinced not to interfere with Mr. Flowerpot's plans. You will convince him." Miyuki spoke in deceptively calm tones that made Tasuki question how far her sanity had fallen. Nevermind that she believed her flowerpot was plotting.  
  
"You wish me to beat a total stranger into submission?"  
  
"If necessary I would have you kill him but it is not."  
  
It didn't take him a second to think about an answer. "No."  
  
"You are defying me?"  
  
"I am," he answered his older sister in the same tone.  
  
"Very well, you may leave." Tasuki frowned but nodded in acceptance with her wishes. He turned to leave but she stopped him with her next request. "Tasuki, would you send Maeko to see me?"  
  
"Mae?" he repeated feeling certain he would not like her reasons for her request.  
  
"Yes, is it an unusual request for me to send for my dear friend?"  
  
Tasuki gritted his teeth. For Mae to convince anybody of something she would have to write notes or do something far more permanent. Judging from what he saw of her, he expected the latter. "Fine. I shall visit this man for you. In the morning. But I want to know everything."  
  
"Of course, dear Tasuki." Her ready agreement was rather unsettling.  
  


* * *

  
  
Nabiki sat on the steps and marveled at the way Ranma moved. It was morning, it was early, and it was the day of reckoning, but Ranma Saotome would not be changed no matter how much he and his wife protested otherwise. Wearing a simply sleeveless shirt and loose fitting pants, the martial artist displayed his prowess in a single-minded performance that made the rest of the world stand still.  
  
Watching over a steaming cup of coffee, Nabiki studied Ranma's katas with a trained eye. He moved with unrivaled grace and skill across the grass in which Ukyo normally practiced her art. He wasn't flying like in days past, instead he stayed firmly planted on the ground and used techniques deemed normal by the rest of the world. But Ranma, of course, was not to be contained by such terms as 'normal'. He performed them at a level of skill far beyond the accepted limitations.  
  
A pair of stray thoughts connected in Nabiki's mind. She watched his style and was able to follow every move. There were none of the improvisations known to their joined family art. "That's why nobody found you," she said to him, the interruption causing him to pause. Ranma looked surprised to see her sitting there and all she offered was a smile in return.  
  
"What?" he asked as he made his way over to her. His breathing was slightly higher than normal and his shirt was damp, but he moved with legs that were still fresh.  
  
She lifted her mug to him, still grinning. "Would you like a coffee? Or tea? Ukyo should be up soon to make breakfast. She's scheduled to work today at one of the restaurants this morning otherwise she would have wanted to come with us."  
  
"No thanks," he answered, squatting so that he was the same height as she was. "So do I have to pay you to finish that thought?"  
  
"Which?" she asked innocently. Ranma scowled but she wasn't going to torture him today. "I'll put it on your tab, Saotome." Though she acted out the mercenary voice the smile on her face contradicted her tone. "I figured out why nobody could find you. You're not practicing Anything Goes any more and without that visual marker you don't stand out."  
  
Ranma grinned at her observation. "Close, but no. I still practice Anything Goes, but I do it at night or in secluded areas. I just adapted to my situation."  
  
Nabiki sipped thoughtfully. He was waiting for her to build on her guess and she was hoping not to disappoint him. There was something about the way he phrased his answer. 'I still practice Anything Goes, but...' So he practiced more often, but he did other styles during the day. Other styles. He practiced other styles by day. "You got your dojo."  
  
Ranma's grin bloomed into a full fledge smile. "Not yet, but you're close enough. Akane and I were both teaching at a couple of dojos. It's not riches, but it pays the bills and we enjoyed it. She's going nuts right now with Taka-chan. Patience was never one of Akane's strong points, was it?"  
  
"No, can't say that it was," Nabiki answered with a grin of her own. Ranma had understood more about teaching martial arts than Nabiki had given him credit for. He planned to get his name around in the martial arts world as a teacher before wasting money on his own building. He would have his classes before the dojo was ever built. "You really have grown up."  
  
"Heh, maybe I did," Ranma answered. "I didn't want Taka-chan to go through what I did."  
  
"She looks like you," Nabiki told the young father as she thought of dozens of ways to tease him. A glass of water would have sufficed and she scolded herself for not thinking of it sooner.  
  
Ranma was oblivious to all but what he wanted to hear, however. "She does?" he asked, grinning in that oblivious pride only a father seemed to adopt.  
  
"Oh yes," she drawled as she pulled in her smile as tightly as she could. "Those crystal blue eyes, her sharp features. She's going to be a heart breaker." Ranma beamed with pride. "All she needs to complete the image is the red hair."  
  
And that brief moment where Ranma froze with his mouth open and his eyes gazing emptily was worth the early start to her morning. She didn't laugh, but she did chuckle proudly at her shot.  
Ranma's laughter followed shortly after. "Never did find a cure."  
  
To that Nabiki was surprised. "You haven't been a girl since you've got here," she stated uncertain why Ranma didn't seem more disappointed. Even her own feelings on the subject seemed mixed. Somehow it seemed like the curse made Ranma whole.  
  
"It doesn't happen so often any more," Ranma admitted as she listened attentively, "but I'm still cursed. Think it was last week when some kids with water balloons nailed me from a rooftop." He didn't sound at all upset by his lack of a cure and Nabiki watched him carefully for the old tells.  
  
"You don't seem bothered," she prompted when she didn't see any.  
  
"I'm not. What's the point? Akane didn't mind and it wasn't going to go away, so getting all upset about it wasn't going to help." Ranma shifted himself over and sat down on the stairs beside her.  
  
"What about the man among men? What does your mother think of this?"  
  
"Don't see her all that often," Ranma admitted. "Sure, she doesn't really want me dead, but it's not an ideal place for Takami. My folks may mean well but be honest, would you take your daughter to see them?"  
  
"I haven't got a daughter," Nabiki reminded him tonelessly. He merely looked at her with a solid unwavering stare and she gave in. It certainly wasn't a secret that Ranma's parents were loons. "Okay, okay. You're right. The great Nabiki bows to your superior intellect." She paused only a second and took in the shining gleam in her brother-in-law's eyes. "How long have you been waiting to hear that?"  
  
"Long time. Admittedly, most of that time I had been wrong and didn't want to believe it." He shrugged and look to the sky. "What time are we going?"  
  
Nabiki winced through her next sip of coffee. The bitter liquid became tasteless as her good mood soured. "Well," she answered, buying herself more time as she followed that up with another sip.  
More time was granted, but not in a way that Nabiki could control nor could she answer. In typical fashion, a martial artist stepped in to challenge Ranma. He had been out of hiding only a day and a challenger had located her home to get him. The young man leapt over her fence and landed on his feet facing them, his partly bleached brown hair flashing almost blonde in the morning sun. He was shorter than Ranma and rather lanky. In fact, he didn't look at all threatening compared to the old rivals Ranma faced. This of course set Nabiki on edge because around Ranma, non-threatening meant trouble.  
  
"I've one word of advice for you Ranma Saotome," the young man proclaimed in a confident but cold voice. "Don't. Don't get involved or this will be a battle you'll regret."  
  
"Only one goin'a be sorry is you," an immediately defensive Ranma answered. Nabiki blinked. She could have sworn his voice sounded younger. She reconsidered when she realized she had misheard and overlayed what she had expected him to say. She could tell this by the answer from the challenger.  
  
"The name's Tasuki. Just Tasuki. And you're quite right, we don't need to fight." Tasuki shifted slightly as if expecting to be attacked. "But only if you agree to go home and forget about this. Please don't see the Amazons today. Enjoy your life."  
  
Whatever Ranma's expression, Nabiki did note that he didn't take the threat of violence lightly. He prepared himself much the same way as he would against any fighter he took seriously.  
Nabiki stood up and tossed the contents of her cup onto the grass. She wanted to go wake up Ukyo to help out, but more often than not others just got in Ranma's way.  
  
"Tasuki, if you don't want to get hurt, leave now." Ranma didn't sound mocking, but his voice was cool to the stranger. "If you want to interfere with my life, then you're in for a world of hurt."  
  
"If that's your choice. For your information however, you'll have to hit me to hurt me," Tasuki stated solemnly as he settled into a simple combat stance. He hovered there for a moment before charging to the attack. Tasuki fired off several hard punches but Ranma simply blocked them without effort.  
  
A kick was dodged.  
  
A fist stopped without making contact.  
  
Ranma didn't appear at all threatened but he wasn't going to sit back and wait. He blocked another fist and struck back. Only his fist passed through Tasuki. Both fighters paused. Tasuki smirked at Ranma and chuckled softly. Nabiki nearly fell over in shock. Ranma stood with his arm still fully extended through Tasuki's chest, but his fist emerged clear through the other side without injury to either fighter.  
  
"Ordinarily, I admit I wouldn't be much of a match for you, but I told you that you had to hit me first," Tasuki commented in amusement. Then he decked the still surprised Ranma across the face. Tasuki's fist was solid and drove Ranma backwards.  
  
"How?" Nabiki gasped as Ranma rubbed his face and regarded his opponent. Tasuki paused and looked from Ranma to her without looking too concerned.  
  
"Magic," he told her as he produced a coin from between his fingers in a corny magic trick. "It's an old magic and you will forgive me if I don't tell you how I have come by it," he told them as he rolled the coin along his fingers, "but needless to say it makes me an interesting opponent, even for the likes of you Ranma."  
  
Ranma nodded in understanding and regrouped to do combat again. "Not the first time I've dealt with magic."  
  
Tasuki returned his attention to Ranma almost reluctantly. "But it's your first time dealing with me. Neither of us really want to fight. You just return home and I'll leave. I give you my word I will not harm you or any of your friends."  
  
"And I should believe you?" Ranma asked. "It's not like you fight honorably."  
  
"Honor has no place in a fight," Tasuki responded bluntly. "Honor is better suited for how you live your life between your fights. I stand by my word."  
  
"If you're so honorable, then why are you attacking us?" Ranma asked as he studied the magical fighter.  
  
"I've got reasons," responded Tasuki defensively. "They're personal, but honorable reasons. Believe it or not, I have your best interests in mind."  
  
Ranma wouldn't back down from the fight though. "I won't have you or anybody else dictating whether or not I can see my friends." Nabiki boggled at the thought of Cologne being classed as a 'friend.' "You're not that tough. Without your magic trick you wouldn't last five minutes."  
  
Tasuki merely nodded and pressed his attacks again. Nabiki watched and wondered what would drive the obviously out-classed martial artist to battle Ranma. Tasuki could not get an attack through because of Ranma's speed and skill, but Ranma would eventually land a substantial blow.  
Nabiki nervously wondered why nobody else had appeared by her side, despite the knowledge that they barely would have had time to wake up and dress themselves by this point. The fight hadn't lasted more than two minutes, but it felt like an eternity.  
  
And then Ranma did something she had almost expected. He moved with one of Tasuki's punches and threw the other fighter through the air by his forearm. Nabiki wondered in that moment if her expression matched Tasuki's as their eyes met. He was flying right for her on the stairs and she was too stunned to move. That was the worse part. She knew she should get out of the way, she had enough time had she reacted, but her legs seemed to be made of stone.  
  
She closed her eyes and raised her arms in a feeble effort to protect herself from Tasuki's flying mass. He screamed at her to move but still nothing. For a moment she thought she felt a light breeze over the exposed skin on her arms, but the dreaded impact never occurred. Opening her eyes, Nabiki found only Ranma racing towards her with concern in his eyes. Of Tasuki there was no sign.  
  
"What just happened?" she demanded still trying to get her heart rate to settle. Martial arts had very nearly hurt her again in a more physical sense this time.  
  
"He did that magical thing and went through you and fell into the ground." Ranma answered hurriedly. "Are you okay?" The concern in his eyes was honest, she knew, as was the obvious signs of guilt. It didn't mean she had forgiven him just yet.  
  
"Yeah, fine," she answered dryly as she looked at the wooden planks beneath her feet. Her mind focused more on what happened to Tasuki. Death had never been a second thought back in high school when Ranma and Akane sent martial artists over the horizon, but Tasuki had gone into the ground. The parallel was more than a little unsettling. "Do you think he's..." She drifted off and sought Ranma's eyes with her own.  
  
"Yeah," Ranma answered unconvincingly. "Sure, we'll see him again. I'm not going to be scared off so he'll be back to fight me again."  
  
Nabiki closed her eyes slowly and breathed in deeply. "Saotome, you're horrible at convincing even those who want to believe." She sniffed and looked about her yard. It seemed alien to her now. Like she was an invader on this land. She didn't know anything about magic, but she didn't think Tasuki was dead either. It was the uncertainty that bothered her. "I'm not hungry," she told him, not adding 'any more.' "As soon as you're ready we'll see the amazons." She was beginning to think that perhaps the sooner they left, the better.  
  


* * *

  
  
Notes:  
Well, it was a long time coming, but much of the work on this chapter would have future repercussions down the road. I had to portray the new characters in ways that they would react to each other in ways required to the story while still fitting into the world. Easy enough to do with Petra, not so easy with the likes of Tasuki and Mae.  
  
I'm also playing with 's formatting. I hate what it does to text files. I like to have my paragraphs carefully indented and it doesn't seem to save that. Oh well, I'll solve that problem with experience.  
  
Anyway, I have the upcoming scene at the Nekohaten half completed but it was getting rather long to fit into this chapter. Besides, who knows how long it could take to finish, eh? 


End file.
